Virgin Atlantic Retires Its Boeing 747 Fleet

On 21 December 2020, we said farewell to our last Boeing 747-400 as G-VROY, Pretty Woman, departed London Heathrow for the United States. Its departure completed the retirement of the Boeing 747 from our fleet, bringing to a close 36 years of operating the aircraft type that had been part of Virgin Atlantic since our first flight in June 1984. The decision to retire our remaining seven Boeing 747-400s had been announced in May 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe reduction in passenger demand. Although we had already planned to phase out the aircraft, the crisis brought their retirement forward. Our final Boeing 747 passenger service had operated on 30 March 2020, when G-VROS flew a repatriation service from Los Angeles to London Heathrow. The Boeing 747 had a particular place in our history. Our inaugural flight from London Gatwick to Newark on 22 June 1984 was operated by a leased Boeing 747-200, G-VIRG, Maiden Voyager. Over the following decades, the aircraft became closely associated with our long-haul services, particularly on routes from Gatwick and Manchester. Its distinctive upper deck and four-engine design were familiar to generations of passengers and colleagues. Before the final aircraft departed, we organised a farewell event at our Heathrow hangar in December, giving a limited number of visitors the opportunity to tour G-VROY, meet colleagues who had worked on the aircraft and dine onboard. The event also raised funds for the Trussell Trust, which supports food banks across the UK. The retirement formed part of our move towards a simpler fleet of more fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft, including the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It was a necessary operational change during a difficult period for the airline, while also marking the end of a longstanding part of our identity.